Solid State vs. Tubes - What if Transistors came first?

I am sitting and listening to a live CD (Leonard Cohen, Can’t Forget: A Souvenir Of A Grand Tour. track 4 La Manic) wondering about this tube/transistor debate. What do sound systems at relatively large concerts use? Is it tubes? Is it solid state? If I wanted to reproduce what I heard at the concert, would it make more sense to use something more similar to what I listened to during the live performance?

For this particular concert, I highly doubt any kind of home equipment would put you back there. CD is good, but the sound is not right.

elizabeth,

Hold on to your cars. You surely know that they don't make them like that anymore. As it is now, tubes will outlive manual transmissions.

M51 - I am curious as to what preamp/line stage, amp and DAC you are using.

geoffkait,

"Famous Autistic People...….Hans Christian Andersen"

Who diagnosed him?

In school, or was it kindergarten, we learned that he had liver cancer.

Live acoustic music is not tubelike or SS.  It is somewhere between the two in many ways.  It is not exceptionally rounded or flat, overly warm or cold or particularly rolled off nor piercing.  It is clear, undistorted, unconfined and full of dynamic shadings.  It is unique unto itself.  There is certainly no imaging per se either.  SS and tubes can convey certain aspects of a live performance but can not fully reproduce it.  Large events use SS amplification, but no matter what amplification would be used, the venue itself has a larger sonic imprint.  That’s why there are great sounding Symphony Halls and terrible sounding ones.  Seats within venues alter your perception of fidelity.  For home, many variables must be in harmony to achieve a reasonable level of fidelity to the source.  Far more than just Tubes or SS in the signal path.  Of course, you also need to be able to hear pitch and tone with reasonable acuity.